particular weight, other devices may be used. Bandaging the parts has
been practiced with success. Tying the hands is also successful in some
cases; but this will not always succeed, for they will often contrive
to continue the habit in other ways, as by working the limbs, or lying
upon the abdomen. Covering the organs with a cage has been practiced
with entire success. A remedy which is almost always successful in small
boys is circumcision, especially when there is any degree of phimosis.
The operation should be performed by a surgeon without administering
an anaesthetic, as the brief pain attending the operation will have
a salutary effect upon the mind, especially if it be connected with
the idea of punishment, as it may well be in some cases. The soreness
which continues for several weeks interrupts the practice, and if it
had not previously become too firmly fixed, it may be forgotten and
not resumed. If any attempt is made to watch the child, he should be
so carefully surrounded by vigilance that he cannot possibly transgress
without detection. If he is only partially watched, he soon learns to
elude observation, and thus the effect is only to make him cunning in
his vice.
_In adults_, or youths, a different plan must be pursued. In these cases,
moral considerations, and the inevitable consequences to health of body
and mind, are the chief influences by which a reform is to be effected,
if at all. These considerations may be urged with all possible eloquence
and earnestness, but should not be exaggerated. The truth is terrible
enough. If there are any special influences which may be brought to
bear upon a particular individual,--and there always will be something
of this sort owing to peculiarities of temperament or
circumstances,--these should be promptly employed and applied in such
a manner as to secure for them their full bearing.
But after all, the most must be done by the individual himself. All
that others can do for him is to surround him with favoring
circumstances and arouse him to a proper sense of his real condition
and danger. If this can be thoroughly accomplished, there is much reason
to hope; but if the individual has become so lost to all sense of purity,
all aspirations toward good and noble objects, that he cannot be made
to feel the need of reformation, his case is hopeless.
_How May a Person Help Himself?_--The following suggestions will be
found useful in fighting the battle with vice and habit:--
1. Begin by a resolution to reform, strengthened by the most solemn
vows.
2. Resolve to reform _now_; not to-morrow or next week, but this very
minute. Thousands have sunk to perdition while resolving to indulge
"only this once."
3. Begin the work of reform by purging the mind. If a lewd thought enters
the mind, dispel it at once. Cultivate a loathing for concupiscence.
Never harbor such ideas for an instant, for they will surely lead to
the overt act. If, perchance, the physical sin should not be committed,
the thought itself is sin, and it leaves a physical as well as a moral
scar almost as deep and hideous as that inflicted by the grosser crime.
4. As a help to purity of mind, whenever impure thoughts enter,
immediately direct the mind upon the purest object with which you are
acquainted. Flee from the special exciting cause, if there is one, and
engage in some active labor or other exercise that will divert the mind
into another channel.
5. Avoid solitude, for then it is that temptation comes, and you are
most likely to fail. Avoid equally all other causes which may lead to
the act.
6. Strictly comply with all the rules laid down for the cultivation
of chastity and the maintenance of continence.
7. Above all, seek for grace and help from the Source of all spiritual
strength in every time of temptation, relying upon the promise, "Seek,
and ye shall find."
Hopeful Courage.--An individual who will earnestly set himself about
the work of purifying his mind and redeeming his body, if he will
conscientiously adopt, and perseveringly apply, the remedies pointed
out, _may be sure of success_. There can be no possible chance for
failure. Triumph is certain. Patience may be tried and faith tested,
but unwavering trust in God and nature, and an executed determination
to do all on his part, will bring to every such one certain recovery.
There may be some scars left, a few traces of the injury wrought; but
the deliverance will be none the less triumphant. Faith and
perseverance will work wonders.
General Regimen and Treatment.--After long abuse of the sexual organs,
and in many cases after a short course of sin, the whole system becomes
deteriorated; digestion is impaired, the muscles are weakened, the
circulation is unbalanced, the nerves are irritable, the
brain--especially the back and lower portion of it--is congested, the
skin is torpid, the bowels are inactive, the general health is deranged
in almost every particular. All of these morbid conditions serve to
keep up the very difficulty which has produced and is increasing them.
Any curative effort, to be effective, then, must be directed to these
as well as to local conditions; and it is pretty certainly established
that local remedies or applications alone will rarely accomplish any
appreciable good, at least of a permanent character.
Many of the observations on treatment are equally applicable to both
sexes; but particular directions have been especially adapted to males,
and chiefly with the cure of seminal emissions as the object in view.
This remark will explain any seeming lack of completeness.
Mental and Moral Treatment.--The greatest impediment to recovery is
usually found in the mind of the patient. His hopeless despair,
melancholy, sullen apathy in many cases, want of energy, and fickleness
of mind, thwart all attempts that are made for him. In other cases,
the want of willpower, or neglect to exercise the will in controlling
the thoughts, completely counteracts all that can be done for him. He
must be made to understand this well, and then all possible means must
be employed to attract his attention from himself, from brooding over
his ills. Occupy him, interest him, or teach him to occupy and interest
himself. The enthusiastic study of some one of the natural sciences
is a most excellent auxiliary in effecting this.
The thing of first importance is that the patient should obtain command
of his thoughts; by this means, he can do more for himself than all
the doctors can do for him. "But I cannot control my thoughts," says
the patient. A young man said to me, "O doctor, you don't know how I
feel. I despise myself; I hate myself; I often feel inclined to kill
myself. My mind is always full of abominable images; my thoughts run
away with me and I cannot help myself." The tears ran down his face
in streams as he told me of his slavery. He solemnly affirmed that he
had never performed the act of self-pollution but once in his life:
and yet for years he had been a constant sufferer from nocturnal
emissions until his manhood was nearly lost, evidently the result of
the mental onanism which he had practiced without imagining the
possibility of harm.
But it is not true that control of the thoughts is impossible. Thoughts
are the result of the action of the brain; and the action of the brain
may be controlled as well as the movements of a voluntary muscle. It
may be more difficult, especially when the resolution is weakened, as
it is by this vice; but so long as there are left any remnants of will
and reason, control is possible. To strengthen the will must be one
of the objects of mental treatment, and exercise is the method by which
it may be accomplished. The thing for a sufferer to say, is not, "I
can't," but, "I can and I will control my thoughts." Suggestions which
will aid in accomplishing this have already been given under the heading,
"Cure of the Habit."
We cannot forbear to add a word further respecting the worth of religion
in aiding these sufferers. If there is any living creature who needs
the help of true religion, of faith in God, in Christ, and in the
efficacy of prayer, it is one of these. If there is any poor mortal
who can not afford to be deprived of the aid of a sympathizing Saviour,
it is one who has enervated his will, degraded his soul, and depraved
his body by the vile habit of self-abuse. A compassionate Redeemer will
succor even these defiled ones, if they truly "hunger and thirst" after
purity, and if they set about the work of reforming themselves in good
earnest, and with right motives.
Exercise.--Physical exercise is a most powerful aid to pure thoughts.
When unchaste ideas intrude, engage at once in something which will
demand energetic muscular exercise. Pursue the effort until fatigued,
if necessary, making, all the while, a powerful mental effort to control
the mind. Of course, evil thoughts will not be expelled by thinking
of them, but by displacing them by pure thoughts. Exercise aids this
greatly.
Exercise is also essential to balance the circulation, and thus relieve
congestion of internal organs. Sedentary persons especially need
systematic exercise. No single form of exercise is so excellent as
walking. Four or five miles a day are none too many to secure a proper
amount of muscular exercise. Gymnastics, the "health-lift," "Indian
clubs," "dumb-bells," rowing, and other forms of exercise are all good;
but none of them should be carried to excess. Ball-playing is likely
to be made a source of injury by exciting, in vigorous competition,
too violent and spasmodic action.
Daily exercise should be taken to the extent of fatigue. It is better
that those who are still strong enough should have some regular
employment which will secure exercise. Those who prefer may secure
exercise and recreation in the pursuit of some study that involves
necessary physical exertion; as, botany, geology, or entomology. The
collection of natural-history specimens is one of the most pleasant
diversions, and may be made very useful as well.
Pleasant companionship is essential to the best progress of these
patients, especially in their walks, as much more exercise may be taken
without an unpleasant sense of fatigue with a cheerful companion than
when alone. Solitude should be avoided at all times as much as possible.
Diet.--So much has already been said upon the relation of diet to
chastity and its influence upon the sexual organs that it is unnecessary
to add many remarks here. Nothing could be more untrue than the
statement made by some authors that the nature of the diet is of no
consequence.
The science of physiology teaches that our very thoughts are born of
what we eat. A man that lives on pork, fine-flour bread, rich pies and
cakes, and condiments, drinks tea and coffee and uses tobacco, might
as well try to fly as to be chaste in thought. He will accomplish wonders
if he remains physically chaste; but to be mentally virtuous would be
impossible for him without a miracle of grace.
One whose thoughts have been so long trained in the filthy ruts of vice
that they run there automatically, and naturally gravitate
downward--such a one must exercise especial care to secure the most
simple, pure, and unstimulating diet.
The following precautions are necessary to be observed in relation to
diet:--
1. _Never overeat_. If too much food is taken at one meal, fast the
next meal to give the system a chance to recover itself and to serve
as a barrier against future transgressions of the same kind. Gluttony
is fatal to chastity; and overeating will be certain to cause emissions,
with other evils, in one whose organs are weakened by abuse.
2. _Eat but twice a day_, or, if supper is eaten, let it be very light,
and of the most simple food, as fruit, or fruit and bread. Nothing should
be eaten within four or five hours of bed-time, and it is much better
to eat nothing after three o'clock. The ancients ate but two meals a
day; why should moderns eat three or four? If the stomach contains
undigested food, the sleep will be disturbed, dreams will be more
abundant, and emissions will be frequent. A most imperative rule of
life should be, "Never go to bed with a loaded stomach." The violation
of this rule is the great cause of horrid dreams and nightmare.
3. _Discard all stimulating food_. Under this head must be included,
spices, pepper, ginger, mustard, cinnamon, cloves, essences, all
condiments, salt, pickles, etc., together with animal food of all kinds,
not excepting fish, fowl, oysters, eggs, and milk. It is hardly to be
expected that all who have been accustomed to use these articles all
their lives will discard them wholly at once, nor, perhaps, that many
will ever discard them entirely; but it would be better for them to
do so, nevertheless. The only ones which should be tolerated under any
circumstances should be lean beef or mutton, salt in very moderate
quantities, and a moderate use of milk. Use as little of these as
possible--_the less the better_.
4. _Stimulating drinks_ should be abstained from with still greater
strictness. Wine, beer, tea, and coffee should be taken under no
circumstances. The influence of coffee in stimulating the genital
organs is notorious. Chocolate should be discarded also. It is
recommended by some who suppose it to be harmless, being ignorant of
the fact that it contains a poison practically identical with that of
tea and coffee.
Hot drinks of all kinds should be avoided.
Tobacco, another stimulant, though not a drink, should be totally
abandoned at once.
5. In place of such articles as have been condemned, eat fruits, grains,
and vegetables. There is a rich variety of these kinds of food, and
they are wholesome and unstimulating. Graham flour, oatmeal, and ripe
fruit are the indispensables of a dietary for those who are suffering
from sexual excesses.
Further remarks upon diet, with a few useful recipes for preparing
healthful food, will be found in works devoted to the subject of
diet.[54] The patient must carefully comply with all the rules of a
healthy diet if he would be sure of recovery.
[Footnote 54: See "Healthful Cookery," _Good Health_ Publishing
Company, Battle Creek, Mich.]
Sleeping.--It is from accidents which happen during sleep that the
great majority of sufferers complain; hence there is no little
importance attaching to this subject. The following suggestions
present in a very brief manner some of the more practical ideas
connected with this part of the subject:--
1. From seven to nine hours' sleep are required by all persons. The
rule should be, Retire early and sleep until rested; Early rising is
not beneficial unless it has been preceded by abundant sleep.
2. Arise immediately upon waking in the morning if it is after four
o'clock. A second nap is generally unrefreshing and is dangerous, for
emissions most frequently occur at this time.
3. If insufficient sleep is taken at night, sleep a few minutes just
before dinner. Half an hour's rest at this time is remarkably
refreshing; and even fifteen minutes spent in sleep will be found very
reviving. Do not sleep after dinner, as a pollution will be very likely
to occur, and, as a rule, after-dinner naps are unrefreshing and
productive of indigestion.
4. Never go to bed with the bowels or bladder loaded. The bladder should
be emptied just before retiring. It is also a good plan to form the
habit of rising once or twice during the night to urinate.
5. The position in sleeping is of some importance. Sleeping upon the
back or upon the abdomen favors the occurrence of emissions; hence,
it is preferable to sleep on one side. If supper has been taken, the
right side is preferable, as that position will favor the passage of
food from the stomach into the intestines in undergoing digestion.
Various devices are employed, sometimes with advantage, to prevent the
patient from turning upon his back while asleep. The most simple is
that recommended by Acton, and consists in tying a knot in the middle
of a towel and then fastening the towel about the body in such a way
that the knot will come upon the small of the back. The unpleasant
sensations arising from pressure of the knot, if the sleeper turn upon
his back, will often serve as a complete preventive. Others fasten a
piece of wood upon the back for a similar purpose. Still others practice
tying one hand to the bedpost. None of these remedies should be depended
upon, but they may be tried in connection with other means of treatment.
6. Soft beds and pillows must be carefully avoided. Feather-beds should
not be employed when possible to find a harder bed; the floor, with
a single folded blanket beneath the sleeper, would be preferable. Soft
pillows heat the head, as soft beds produce heat in other parts. A hair
mattress, or a bed of corn husks, oat straw, or excelsior--covered with
two or three blankets or a quilted cotton mattress--makes a very healthy
and comfortable bed.
7. Too many covers should be avoided with equal care. The thinnest
possible covering in summer, and the lightest consistent with comfort
in winter, should be the rule. Sleeping too warm is a frequent exciting
cause of nocturnal losses.
8. Thorough ventilation of the sleeping-room, both while occupied and
during the day-time, must not be neglected. It should be located in
a position to admit the sunshine during the morning hours. It is a good
plan to keep in it a number of house plants, as they will help to purify
the air, besides adding to its cheerfulness.
9. If wakeful at night, instead of lying in bed trying to go to sleep,
get up at once, open the bed, air the sheets, remove the night clothing
and walk about the room for a few minutes, rubbing the body briskly
with the bare hand at the same time. A tepid sponge bath, followed by
a vigorous rubbing kept up until really tired, will conduce to sleep
in many cases. Sometimes a change of bed, or pulling the bed to pieces
and arranging it again, is just the thing needed to bring sleep.
10. One of the most effectual panaceas for certain varieties of
sleeplessness is going to bed at peace with all the world, and with
a conscience void of offense toward God as well as man.
Dreams.--This is a subject of much interest to those suffering from
nocturnal pollutions, for these occurrences are almost always
connected with dreams of a lascivious nature.
In perfectly natural sleep, there are no dreams; consciousness is
entirely suspended. In the ordinary stage of dreaming, there is a
peculiar sort of consciousness, many of the faculties of the mind being
more or less active while the power of volition is wholly dormant.
Carpenter describes another stage of consciousness between that of
ordinary dreaming and wakefulness, a condition "in which the dreamer
has a consciousness that he is dreaming, being aware of the
unreliability of the images which present themselves before his mind.
He may even make a voluntary and successful effort to prolong them if
agreeable, or to dissipate them if unpleasing; thus evincing a certain
degree of that directing power, the entire want of which is
characteristic of the true state of dreams."
Can Dreams Be Controlled?--Facts prove that they can be, and to a
remarkable extent. A large share of emissions occur in the state
described by Dr. Carpenter, in which a certain amount of control by
the will is possible. This is the usual condition of the mind during
morning naps; and if a person resolutely determines to combat unchaste
thoughts whenever they come to him, whether asleep or awake, he will
find it possible to control himself not only during this semi-conscious
state, but even during more profound sleep.
The following case, related by an eminent London surgeon,[55]
illustrates what may be done by strong resolution; the patient was an
Italian gentleman of very great respectability.
[Footnote 55: Acton.]
"He had been inconvenienced five years before with frequent emissions,
which totally unnerved him. He determined resolutely that the very
instant the image of a woman or any libidinous idea presented itself
to his imagination, _he would wake_; and to insure his doing so, dwelt
in his thoughts on his resolution for a long time before going to sleep.
The remedy, applied by a vigorous will, had the most happy results.
The idea, the remembrance of its being a _danger_, and the determination
to wake, closely united the evening before, were never dissociated even
in sleep, and he awoke in time; and this reiterated precaution, repeated
during some evenings, absolutely cured the complaint."
Several other cases of the same kind have been recorded. Doubtless the
plan would be found successful in many cases when coupled with a proper
regimen.
A still greater control is exerted over the thoughts during sleep by
their character during hours of wakefulness. By controlling the mind
during entire consciousness, it will also be controlled during
unconsciousness or semi-consciousness.
Dr. Acton makes the following very appropriate remarks on this
subject:--
"Patients will tell you that they _cannot_ control their dreams. This
is not true. Those who have studied the connection between thoughts
during waking hours and dreams during sleep know that they are closely
connected. The _character_ is the same sleeping or waking. It is not
surprising that, if a man has allowed his thoughts during the day to
rest upon libidinous subjects, he should find his mind at night full
of lascivious dreams--the one is a consequence of the other, and the
nocturnal pollution is a natural consequence, particularly when
diurnal indulgence has produced an irritability of the generative
organs. A will which in our waking hours we have not exercised in
repressing sexual desires, will not, when we fall asleep, preserve us
from carrying the sleeping echo of our waking thought farther than we
dared to do in the day-time."
Bathing.--A daily bath is indispensable to health under almost all
circumstances; for patients of this class, it is especially necessary.
A general bath should be taken every morning immediately upon rising.
General _cold bathing_ is not good for any person, especially in the
morning, though some may tolerate it remarkably well, being of
exceptionally hardy constitutions; but the advice to try "cold bathing"
often given to sufferers from seminal weakness, is very pernicious,
for most of them have been reduced so low in vitality by their disease
that they cannot endure such violent treatment.
Sun baths, electric baths, spray, plunge, and other forms of bath, are
of greatest value to those suffering from the effects of indiscretions.
These are described, with additional observations concerning
temperature of baths, etc., etc., in works devoted to this subject.
Improvement of General Health.--Patients suffering from emissions and
other forms of seminal weakness are almost always dyspeptic, and most
of them present other constitutional affections which require careful
and thorough treatment according to the particular indications of the
case. The wise physician will not neglect these if he desires to cure
his patient and make his recovery as complete as possible.
Prostitution as a Remedy.--Said a leading physician in New York to us
when interrogated as to his special treatment of spermatorrhoea, "When
a young man comes to me suffering from nocturnal emissions, I give him
tonics and _send him to a woman_." That this is not an unusual method
of treatment, even among regular physicians, is a fact as true as it
is deplorable. There are hundreds of young men whose morals have been
ruined by such advice. Having been educated to virtuous habits, at least
so far as illicit intercourse is concerned, they resist all temptations
in this direction, even though their inclinations are very strong; but
when advised by a physician to commit fornication as a remedial measure,
they yield their virtue, far too readily sometimes, and begin a life
of sin from which they might have been prevented. There are good grounds
for believing that many young men purposely seek advice from physicians
whom they know are in the habit of prescribing this kind of remedy.
Few know how commonly this course is recommended, and not by quacks,
but by members of the regular profession. A medical friend informed
us that he knew a case in which a country physician advised a young
man of continent habits to go to a neighboring large city and spend
a year or so with prostitutes, which advice he followed. Of his
subsequent history we know nothing; but it is most probable that, like
most other young men who adopt this remedy, he soon contracted diseases
which rendered his condition ten times worse than at first, without
at all improving his former state. In pursuing this course, one form
of emission is only substituted for another, at the best; but more than
this, an involuntary result of disease is converted into a voluntary
sin of the blackest character, a crime in which two participate, and
which is not only an outrage upon nature, but against morality as well.
A final argument against this course is that it is not a remedy and
does not effect a cure of the evil, as will be shown by the following
medical testimonies:--